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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
Why does the mind wander?
1Department of Philosophy, Carleton University, 3A61 Paterson Hall, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S5B6, Canada.
Abstract:
I seek an explanation for the etiology and the function of mind wandering episodes. My proposal-which I call the cognitive control proposal-is that mind wandering is a form of non-conscious guidance due to cognitive control. When the agent's current goal is deemed insufficiently rewarding, the cognitive control system initiates a search for a new, more rewarding goal. This search is the process of unintentional mind wandering. After developing the proposal, and relating it to the literature on mind wandering and on cognitive control, I discuss explanations the proposal affords, testable predictions the proposal makes, and philosophical implications the proposal has.
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